U.S. Pat. No. 2,765,949 discloses a container and a container lid having a pair of downwardly projecting beaded hinge supports and a downwardly projecting catch. The container side walls include cutouts for receiving the beaded hinges and the container rear wall includes a pair of cutouts for accommodating the hinge supports during operation.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,732,999 relates to a bottle having an integrally formed storage compartment provided in its side wall. A hinge cover is provided for the storage compartment having a pair of non-retractable pintles. The compartment housing includes a pair of cutouts for receiving these pintles. The cutouts are covered by a pair of retaining ledges which bend inwardly and then recoil as the pintle is snapped into place.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,220,253 relates to a three dimensional cover member having a pair of co-axial axially spaced and oppositely outwardly extending rod-like pins or pintle members disposed on the lower edge of its side walls. The side walls are separated from the end walls by a pair of U-shaped notches. This three dimensional cover or lid member is usable only in combination with a housing member having no rear surface in the proximity of the cover or lid member. The cover or lid member can then be moved through the plane of the housing rear surface during an opening operation.
Each of the above discussed patents, illustrates a closure design which requires a housing to be specially configured to accommodate the closure in an operable manner.
The present invention, in contrast, provides a closure member which makes only limited demands upon the housing configuration and is operable within the confines of the housing while still providing the user with easy access to the housing interior. More particularly, a closure in accordance with the present invention comprises a substantially planar panel for covering a housing opening and includes front and rear edges and top, under, first and second side surfaces. A cutout is provided at each intersection of the rear edge and a first or second side surface. A pair of co-axial axially spaced and oppositely outwardly extending rod-like pintle members are disposed on opposite side surfaces. The slit or cutout at the intersection of the first and second side surfaces in the rear edge permits the pintle carrying side surface to retract to permit the pintles to be inserted within a pair of cooperatively disposed co-axial, axially spaced pintle receiving bores disposed in opposite side walls of a cabinet housing. The slits or cutouts are co-planar with the plane of the panel. In a preferred embodiment, the closure includes a substantially rigid support means disposed on the underside of said panel and being approximately perpendicular thereto. The support means can advantageously engage a control panel surface disposed within said housing opening for providing a rear support for said closure panel.
In a preferred embodiment, the closure further includes a latch means integral with and disposed on the front portion of the closure panel. A cutout having a lateral extent in excess of that occupied by said latch means is disposed immediately posterior to the latch means. The latch means can advantageously include a catch means disposed in the undersurface of the front portion of the panel and can advantageously project forward thereof for lockingly engaging at least a portion of said housing. The latch means can advantageously further include a release means integral with the front portion of said panel for retracting said catch mechanism. The release means can advantageously project upwardly from the front edge of said panel. The cutout posteriorily disposed to said latch mechanism permits a force posteriorly directed and applied to the release mechanism to retract the catch in a posterior direction to disengage the closure from the housing.
In a preferred embodiment, the closure of the present invention can be used to enclose a control panel of an audio device such as a table and clock radio. In accordance with the present invention, closures only a minimum portion of the cross-sectional area of the housing opening with the majority of this area be available to provide access to the control switches or buttons deployed in relation therein. Moreover, in a preferred embodiment the bottom surface of the housing is a control panel in which one or more the buttons and switches can be movably mounted. It is preferred that the control panel be mounted within the housing and recessed only a minimum distance from the top planar surface of said housing to permit fingertip access through the closure to the interiorly disposed controls.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a table and clock radio control button housing with a closure which can be removably secured to the housing by a pair of resiliently retractable pintles and employs an integrally molded latch mechanism. The closure additionally provides a uniform appearance in combination with the exterior surface of the housing.